In April 2022, at a press conference celebrating RRR’s global box office surpassing Rs 1,000, filmmaker SS Rajamouli expressed surprise at the uproar his historical epic has caused in the West. . Renowned Telugu filmmaker and creator of his third pan-Indian blockbuster, Rajamouli was completely unaware that he was on top of global glory.
“The big difference is what I’ve noticed with RRR is how many Western viewers love the film. Within 4-5 days, Deadline, Variety, and the New York Times started appearing, and many tweets, especially from the United States.
On Wednesday, months after the film became a global juggernaut, RRR scripted history. Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Although it failed to win this award for Best Non-English Film, winning the infectious MM Keeravani track Naatu Naatu gave it even more chances to do things that were unthinkable upon its release.
A la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
National Award-winning filmmaker and former film critic Utpal Borpujari compares RRR’s euphoria to Ang Lee’s 2000 blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie, led by a Chinese actor, was a global sensation, especially at the Academy Awards, where he was nominated for 10 categories and won 4 categories.
“That journey was very fascinating to me. It’s amazing how Western film critics have perfected the film.RRR has all the ingredients of a typical Indian potboiler. Dai Massive storytelling, singing, dancing, moderately good VFX, in India there have been movies like this before in many languages, but they (the Americans) suddenly discovered something and were hooked. I was.
“It’s a phenomenon like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, where Western audiences find novel exotica. The combination is a good mix for the West,” Bolpujari told indianexpress.com.
RRR is a finalist for Best Original Song at the upcoming Oscars. It was not selected as an official Indian entry, so it does not have a category for Best International Film, but RRR Makers are actively seeking bigger nominations such as Best Picture and Best Director.
RRR’s success defines Naatu Naatu’s popularity
Sound designer Resul Pookutty, who won an Academy Award for Sound Mixing for Slumdog Millionaire, said RRR’s Golden Globes earned him the honor of beating out “some of the biggest names in the music industry.” “It’s a big win,” he said. Taylor Swift’s ‘Carolina’ was competing with ‘Hold My Hand’ from Lady Gaga’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Lift Me Up’ from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever played by Rihanna .
“It’s the first Asian song to take home the glory. This win really paves the way and shows how people respond to the film’s emotional connection. Next Oscars this year.” I want to take home the best song award with Naatu Naatu,” Pookutty told indianexpress.com.
Naatu Naatu has captivated audiences across ethnicities, cultures and countries with pulsating beats and highly energetic choreography and dance by two stars, Jr NTR and Ram Charan. Pookutty doesn’t have a specific sound the West will react to, but it’s the film that connects them, and he shares that his love for RRR and, by extension, his love for Naatu Naatu abounds.
“I don’t think there’s a specific sound that they respond to more. I think that’s how the movie connects with them. Every song should have an emotional connection in the story and be identifiable.” And I believe … Naatu Naatu worked like that, and I think it’s a strong Oscar contender, ”he adds.
Minutes after RRR picked up its first Golden Globe, composer AR Rahman, the multi-Oscar-winning historical screenwriter for 2007’s Slumdog Millionaire, announced that I summed up my victory in just two words. Accompanied by fire, smileys and victory emoticons, Rahman said the big moment was a “paradigm shift.”
RRR path bump
A trading source shared with indianexpress.com that RRR’s road to glory was full of challenges. One of his most expensive films with over Rs 550 crore, the ambitious epic action film had to face multiple release delays. From his originally planned 2020 opening, RRR finally hit our screens last year. This meant manufacturers shouldering a heavy financial burden of increased costs, huge marketing expenses and recovery risks.
“Of course, Rajamouli was in RRR after Baahubali 2, but due to its delayed release, the release was temporarily halted just before release due to a third wave, making it a more costly film. There was no doubt it was going to be big, but the question was just how big it was and I don’t think anyone, including the RRR team, knew what was going to happen. also responded in ways that were unpredictable.It’s now outnumbered and sort of this shared cultural sentiment,” the source said.
RRR’s rise to become a global phenomenon not to be missed has its roots in Netflix, with the release of the film in May 2022, allowing more viewers to enjoy the spectacle from the comfort of their own home. It looks like In the months that followed, the Western audience began to trickle in, sharing tweets, posting videos, and encouraging people to watch and be enchanted by the film. continued to rise, and Hollywood and other celebrities bowed and were in awe of SS Rajamouli’s vision.
RRR has been watched for 73 million hours on Netflix
Monica Shergill, vice president of content for Netflix India, said RRR was trending globally in 62 countries, with “more than 73 million hours” watched worldwide within the first four weeks of its release, according to indianexpress. shared with .com.
“Witnessing such a historic moment for Indian entertainment is incredibly exhilarating! Within its first four weeks of release, the film was watched worldwide for over 73 million hours and trended globally in 62 countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. “Naatu Naatu winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is proof that Netflix has always believed that great stories can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere,” said Shergil.
The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24th, and Team RRR is hoping their long and fanfare-filled Oscar campaign will bear fruit. It’s not an easy campaign to run in one fell swoop. Millions of dollars have been poured into promoting the film to make it attractive to Academy voting members in order to make it deemed Oscar-worthy.
When filmmaker Limadas’ Village Rockstar was selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2018, the director reportedly struggled with the funding needed to make the Oscar campaign a success. Utpal Borpujari shares that the film has been in a “tough campaign” to compete with the world’s best films for “voter attention”, but RRR has so far been one of the few Indian films to have. What was not, seems to have an incredible buzz.
“This song has a very good chance of winning an Oscar, because Buzz depends a lot on how American critics respond. Now they’ve diversified and spread out all over the world. After the Golden Globes, they’re sure to win best song at the Oscars.I wouldn’t be surprised if RRR ended up with two nominations at the Oscars. .
“What helped RRR is that apart from the fact that the producers have ample money to spend on the promotional campaign, the movie is really buzzing. I hope American film critics will look beyond exotica to discover more diverse Indian films,” Bolpujali adds.
